GUTS2026：ワタリガラス / The Raven
The English translation is at the bottom.
「グリーンランドカヤックだ！」「ストームロールだ！」と、これまで勝手にオダを上げてきましたが、実のところ、それ以外のグリーンランドについては、ほとんど知りませんでした。今回、GUTSで“狩猟文化”にフォーカスすることになり、これは良い機会だと思って、改めて知識や情報を仕入れてみることにしました。
折しも、アメリカによるグリーンランド領有化をめぐるニュースを、連日のように目にします。インターネットを探せば情報はいくらでも出てくるのでしょうが、私の場合はどうしても「本」でなければダメなのです。本を手に取り、ページをめくり、どこまで読み進めたかを確かめる。そして読み終えた本は、本棚に鎮座していただく。この一連のプロセスを経て、初めてそれが自分の記憶の一部になる——そんな感覚があります。
ここ最近は、勢いよく何冊かの本を読み進めました。その中で特に印象に残ったのは、次の三点です。
・歴史の中で、他国と近い関係を保ちながらも、微妙な距離感を失わずにきたグリーンランドの政治的スタンス
・同様に、外部の宗教と接点を持ちながらも、容易には取り込まれなかった宗教的な在り方
・狩猟と超自然的な存在（ワタリガラスやシャーマン）との深い関わり
一度にすべて書いてしまうと、いささかネタ切れになってしまうので（笑）、今日はまずワタリガラスから始めることにします。
グリーンランドの厳しい自然の中で暮らしてきたイヌイットの人々にとって、狩猟は単なる生業ではなく、自然と向き合い、対話しながら生きるための営みでした。氷と海に囲まれた世界では、人間は自然を支配する存在ではなく、その一部として存在しています。そんな狩猟文化の中で、ひときわ不思議で特別な存在として語られてきた鳥がいます。それがワタリガラスです。
ワタリガラスは、北極圏から温帯地域まで広く分布する大型のカラスで、非常に知能が高いことで知られています。グリーンランドのイヌイット社会では、ワタリガラスは昔話や神話の中で、知恵者であり、少しずる賢いトリックスターとして登場します。世界に光をもたらした存在、人間に狩猟の知恵を授けた存在として語られることもあり、自然と人間をつなぐ「媒介者」のような存在と考えられてきました。
実は、こうしたワタリガラスのイメージは、グリーンランドだけに限ったものではありません。北米北西海岸の先住民社会でも、ワタリガラスは世界を創造した存在として語られ、北欧神話では、主神オーディンの肩にとまる二羽のカラスが、世界中を飛び回って知識を集める存在として描かれています。地域や文化は違っても、ワタリガラスが「知恵」「観察」「世界の出来事を知る存在」として共通して語られているのは、とても興味深い点です。
グリーンランドの狩猟文化において、ワタリガラスは精神的な象徴であると同時に、非常に実用的な存在でもありました。ワタリガラスは、獲物となる動物の死骸や弱った個体をいち早く見つけます。その飛び方や集まり方を観察することで、狩人たちはアザラシやカリブーの気配を読み取ってきました。自然をよく観察し、その変化を見逃さない姿勢は、極限環境で生きるために欠かせない知恵だったのです。
また、空を飛び、地上を歩き、時には死肉を食べるワタリガラスは、「生と死のあいだ」を行き来する存在とも考えられてきました。狩猟とは命をいただく行為であり、そこには常に敬意と慎みが求められます。ワタリガラスは、狩人の振る舞いを見ている存在、自然の均衡を映し出す存在として、狩猟における倫理を静かに思い出させる役割も担っていたのでしょう。
現代のグリーンランドでは、狩猟の道具や生活様式は大きく変化しました。しかし、ワタリガラスは今も物語や記憶の中に生き続けています。それはグリーンランドに限らず、世界各地で人々が自然と共に生きてきた証でもあります。
ワタリガラスという一羽の鳥を通して見えてくるのは、人間が自然を「利用する対象」としてではなく、「意味を読み取り、敬意を払う相手」として向き合ってきた歴史です。グリーンランドの狩猟文化は、その象徴的な一例にすぎません。この奥深い世界に、少しでも興味を持ってもらえたなら嬉しいです。
I’ve been enthusiastically hyping things up with cries of “Greenland kayaks!” and “storm rolls!”, but truth be told, I knew very little about Greenland beyond that. This time, however, GUTS is focusing on hunting culture, which gave me the perfect excuse to properly brush up on my knowledge and gather some information.
Quite coincidentally, I’ve also been seeing news almost daily about the United States and the idea of claiming Greenland. Sure, I could probably find endless information just by digging around online—but for me, it has to be books. Holding a book in my hands, turning the pages, keeping track of how far I’ve read, and then, once finished, placing it proudly on the bookshelf. Only through this whole process does the knowledge truly become part of my memory—or at least that’s how it feels to me.
Over the past little while, I’ve gone through several books in quick succession, and what left the strongest impression on me were:
・Greenland’s historically close yet carefully balanced political relationship with other nations
・Likewise, its proximity to—but measured independence from—religious influences from outside
・The relationship between hunting and the supernatural (ravens, shamans)
If I write about everything at once, I’ll run out of material—so today, I’ll start with ravens (lol).
For the Inuit people of Greenland, hunting has never been just a way to make a living. It is a way of life—one that involves carefully observing nature and living in balance with it. Surrounded by ice, sea, and wind, people have long understood that humans are not masters of nature, but part of it. Within this hunting culture, one bird stands out as especially mysterious and meaningful: the raven.
The raven is a large, highly intelligent bird found across the Arctic and many temperate regions. In Inuit stories and oral traditions, the raven often appears as a clever and slightly mischievous figure—a bringer of wisdom and a trickster at the same time. In some stories, the raven brings light into the world or teaches humans how to hunt. It is seen not as an ordinary bird, but as a being that connects humans and the natural world.
What makes this especially interesting is that the raven holds a similar role far beyond Greenland. Among Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in North America, the raven is known as a creator figure who shaped the world. In Norse mythology, the god Odin is accompanied by two ravens that fly across the world and return with knowledge of what they have seen. Although these cultures are far apart, the raven is repeatedly associated with intelligence, observation, and deep knowledge of the world.
In Greenland’s hunting culture, the raven is not only a spiritual symbol but also a practical guide. Ravens quickly find dead or weakened animals, and hunters learned to read their movements—where they gather, how they fly—to sense the presence of seals, caribou, or other animals. Watching ravens was one way of listening to nature’s subtle signals, an essential skill for survival in a harsh environment.
Because ravens fly in the sky, walk on the land, and feed on carrion, they have also been seen as creatures that move between life and death. Hunting means taking a life, and for Inuit hunters, this act requires respect and restraint. Ravens were sometimes thought of as silent witnesses to human behavior, reminding hunters to act properly and maintain balance with the natural world.
Today, life in Greenland has changed. Modern tools and technologies are now part of hunting practices. Still, the raven remains alive in stories and cultural memory. And this is not unique to Greenland—it reflects a shared human experience found in many parts of the world.
Through the figure of the raven, we can glimpse a worldview in which nature is not simply something to be used, but something to be understood, respected, and interpreted. Greenland’s hunting culture is one powerful example of this way of thinking. If this story sparks even a small curiosity about that world, then the raven has done its work once again.
Quite coincidentally, I’ve also been seeing news almost daily about the United States and the idea of claiming Greenland. Sure, I could probably find endless information just by digging around online—but for me, it has to be books. Holding a book in my hands, turning the pages, keeping track of how far I’ve read, and then, once finished, placing it proudly on the bookshelf. Only through this whole process does the knowledge truly become part of my memory—or at least that’s how it feels to me.
Over the past little while, I’ve gone through several books in quick succession, and what left the strongest impression on me were:
・Greenland’s historically close yet carefully balanced political relationship with other nations
・Likewise, its proximity to—but measured independence from—religious influences from outside
・The relationship between hunting and the supernatural (ravens, shamans)
If I write about everything at once, I’ll run out of material—so today, I’ll start with ravens (lol).
For the Inuit people of Greenland, hunting has never been just a way to make a living. It is a way of life—one that involves carefully observing nature and living in balance with it. Surrounded by ice, sea, and wind, people have long understood that humans are not masters of nature, but part of it. Within this hunting culture, one bird stands out as especially mysterious and meaningful: the raven.
The raven is a large, highly intelligent bird found across the Arctic and many temperate regions. In Inuit stories and oral traditions, the raven often appears as a clever and slightly mischievous figure—a bringer of wisdom and a trickster at the same time. In some stories, the raven brings light into the world or teaches humans how to hunt. It is seen not as an ordinary bird, but as a being that connects humans and the natural world.
What makes this especially interesting is that the raven holds a similar role far beyond Greenland. Among Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest in North America, the raven is known as a creator figure who shaped the world. In Norse mythology, the god Odin is accompanied by two ravens that fly across the world and return with knowledge of what they have seen. Although these cultures are far apart, the raven is repeatedly associated with intelligence, observation, and deep knowledge of the world.
In Greenland’s hunting culture, the raven is not only a spiritual symbol but also a practical guide. Ravens quickly find dead or weakened animals, and hunters learned to read their movements—where they gather, how they fly—to sense the presence of seals, caribou, or other animals. Watching ravens was one way of listening to nature’s subtle signals, an essential skill for survival in a harsh environment.
Because ravens fly in the sky, walk on the land, and feed on carrion, they have also been seen as creatures that move between life and death. Hunting means taking a life, and for Inuit hunters, this act requires respect and restraint. Ravens were sometimes thought of as silent witnesses to human behavior, reminding hunters to act properly and maintain balance with the natural world.
Today, life in Greenland has changed. Modern tools and technologies are now part of hunting practices. Still, the raven remains alive in stories and cultural memory. And this is not unique to Greenland—it reflects a shared human experience found in many parts of the world.
Through the figure of the raven, we can glimpse a worldview in which nature is not simply something to be used, but something to be understood, respected, and interpreted. Greenland’s hunting culture is one powerful example of this way of thinking. If this story sparks even a small curiosity about that world, then the raven has done its work once again.
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